SIDNEY — A Sidney man has been indicted for his role in the death of an inmate at the Shelby County Jail on Feb. 15.
The Shelby County grand jury returned an indictment Thursday against Cameron Wilkins, 23, of Sidney, for one count of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and one count of illegal convenyance of prohibited items onto the grounds of a detention facility, a third-degree felony.
The charges are in connection with the death of Jacob Lewis, 28, of Sidney, who was was found unresponsive in his jail cell during an hourly check on Feb. 15. Lifesaving measures were performed but Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene by medics from Sidney Fire & Emergency Services.
An investigation into Lewis’s death was conducted by Shelby County Detectives and the Shelby County Coroner’s Office. An autopsy was conducted by Dr. Mary Goolsby, deputy coroner with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. Goolsby ruled that Lewis died as a result of multiple drug intoxication. The coroner’s report states that Lewis had carfentanil, fentanyl, acryfentanyl, norfentanyl and nordiazepam in his system.
Wilkins, who was transported to the Shelby County Jail from Shelby County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 14, was searched before he was booked into the jail. After being booked into jail, Wilkins was placed in the same jail pod as Lewis. Wilkins is accused of taking drugs into the jail, which he later shared with Lewis, which resulted in Lewis’s death.
“Every inmate is searched anytime they come into the jail, or leave and come back,” said Chief Deputy Jim Frye. “When they are booked in, there’s a full strip search completed.”
During the investigation into Lewis’s death, Wilkins reportedly told detectives he had “put the drugs up his butt.”
“It was in powder form,” said Frye. The two inmates, he said, allegedly snorted the drugs.
“My jail staff takes every possible step within the law to prevent these types of incidents from happening within our jail, but as with everything else some people will do anything to attempt to conceal and bring prohibited items into the jail,” said Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart, in a press release.
According to the autopsy report, no heroin was found in Lewis’s body.
“We believe this is the first death as a result of carfentanilin Shelby County,” said Frye. “Most of the deaths have been from heroin.”
The investigation into the death of Lewis was concluded and on March 30, detectives with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office presented the case to the Shelby County grand jury.
“We will continue to hold people responsible for their actions and will see that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. My heart goes out to the Lewis family and I assure you that Wilkins will be held responsible for the death of Jacob Lewis,” said Lenhart.
Wilkins is currently serving a sentence on his initial charges of possession of drugs, failure to comply and driving under suspension. He is incarcerated in the Shelby County Jail.
